If you’re like me, you’re probably tired of comic publishers and their endless stream of hype, teasers and press releases touting revelations that break the internet in thirds and so on.
So when we announced in a press release last week that Vampirella: Second Coming was a “game changer” I’m sure many of you threw up your hands and said, “Oh, here we go again.”
Thing is more often than people want to admit, the hype should on occasion be believed. But how can a retailer know? Comics are ordered two months in advance on a non-returnable basis. Publishers won’t reveal everything about a comic two months ahead of time. By the time such a comic drops on stores, the hubbub surrounding the reveal would’ve long ended. As a result retailers are forced to measure how much they trust publishers and their hype machines and order their books accordingly, sight unseen. It was like they were making a bet with a hand that wasn’t even theirs.
Back around the time Captain America #25 hit, not a few people suggested a special committee be set up to vet publishers’ claims and determine if their product actually lives up to their hype. This committee would read the story but keep its secrets. A publisher could do it’s job of getting the press involved when the book actually came out instead of two months before when it got ordered. Retailers could then ask the committee if they should believe the hype without being told what the big reveals are, making the bet a little easier to make. As far as I know this never happened.
For the Second Coming, though, we wanted to try something similar. We sent the first issue to the board of ComicsPro to make sure retailers know we are not crying wolf. Your local retailer can ask the organization about the issue. Whether the board agrees with our perspective or not is another matter but at the least we wanted to work with retailers in a way that bred trust and partnership. At the end of the day all we want to do is whatever helps both sides prosper.
Two weeks ago we posted this teaser:
Yes, there will be a new Vampirella.
Well… at least one new one.
To Be Continued… in Vampirella: Second Coming #1!
July 16th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Thanks for the article. Did you notice how much this resembles the “who is the new Black Panther” campaign from Marvel? It looks like this Vampirella is bald, which I would find very surprising – another coincidence, though, in that one of the potential candidates for the new Black Panther was Storm, who has been bald at some points.
You’ve piqued my curiosity, yes, and I’m also interested in the $2 price (notice I didn’t say “$1.99″ or “price point” : ) )
July 17th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Look at that silhouette. The new Vampirella is…
Deadpool!